Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees

I really don’t like to sweat.

Exercise was never my favorite thing to do. It still isn’t.

But I have now reached an age where exercise is a needed thing.

I have in the past done video work-outs. They were very effective for awhile. But eventually I would get bored and have to force myself to do them.

I also discovered that my muscles need variety. They soon get accustomed to the same exercises and don’t need to work as hard.

I love taking a walk, but in the dead of an Iowa winter, that isn’t always possible.

So we started collected exercise equipment.  I am amazed at what you can find at garage sales!

A Schwinn aerodyne, a weight bench, and even a Nordic Track stair stepper for $1.

After we moved, all of these equipment slowly started to congregate into our unfinished basement.

I looked around the other day and said, “By golly, I have my very own workout room!”

We added a CD player, an old TV set with a DVD player and several tapes.

Everyday, I have a choice of exercise equipment and can choose what I want to watch while I work out.

Now if I can just motivate myself to actually use them…

I am thrilled to be doing laundry today!

Seriously. I’m not being sarcastic here!

My wonderful husband has spent three days running wires, water lines and drain lines so that my washer and dryer could be hooked up in the new house.

After 3 days with no laundry and seven people in the house- it was time. We had dusty dirty clothes from cleaning out and sorting through the storage room. There were my smelly and sticky painting and varnishing clothes. There were piles of towels and wet wash clothes.

I even found a bag of my parents dirty clothes from their last visit that had somehow gotten left on the porch when they were packing up!  (It was a little confusing that afternoon!)

The pile was growing and beginning to take on a life of its own!

Still it wasn’t quite as bad as the ice storm last December when we went without power and water for 6 days…

Or as bad as after our week long camping trip every summer…

But still I am grateful. My Amish neighbors still use wringer washers and hang everything outside, even in the dead of winter. My 87 year neighbor still hand washes all of her clothes on a wash board (by choice).

But my washer and dryer are modern conveniences that I appreciate.

The sound of the washer changing cycles is like music to my ears!

The hum of the dryer sounds so normal and homey.

So on this Thanksgiving eve I would like to express my thanks for the wonders of modern washers and the convenience of my dryer. Ahh- there’s the ringer for the dryer now- what a sweet sound!

It just wasn’t our day.

Maybe it was feeling the after-effects of several hard days of packing. Maybe it was because of the election results. Maybe it was the weather.

Whatever it was, today just didn’t go as planned.

We are in the final stages of moving into my beautifully renovated farm house and this week has been very hectic.

The last thing we needed was something else on the schedule… but… months ago we had scheduled a trip to the dentist for the entire family for today. We were so proud of ourselves at the time, actually getting the entire family in one trip.

Who knew that this week would end up being the craziest one yet?

My husband was frantically trying to lay tile so it would have a chance to set while we were gone. The kids and I were loading things up and trying to get them moved before the rain started falling. And in all of our hurry, we were running a little late.

So my husband decided to take the back roads to the dentist to save some time. It seemed like a good idea at the time… but… the back roads are very hilly and curving. The kids call them “roller coaster” roads.

My husband was really booking it trying to make up time. Up..down..around a curve…up…down…another curve….

We were cruising right along when about half way into our trip I hear from the back seat “Gross! Buddy just threw up!”

Oh dear. I grabbed the Subway napkins in the glove compartment and handed them back then climbed up over the seat to take a look.

The poor kid was in the middle of the seat and looked green with his lunch in his lap. “Hang on, Buddy, try not to move, we’re almost there.” My words sounded shallow even to myself, but there was little I could do.

We opened the windows and hung out of them the rest of the way. Poor Buddy closed his eyes and sat still, holding his lunch in his lap. I felt sorry for his brother and sister in the back seat with him.

At the dentist office (just 3 minutes late) my husband took some of the kids in to get them started while I took buddy to clean him up. Then I had to find him something else to wear.

I headed to the Nifty Thrifty looking for baby wipes and some clothes, but I didn’t do well. Can you believe a thrift store that had no boys pants? Not even a pair of sweat pants?! I ended buying bathroom wipes and a t-shirt. Oh well, it’s a start.

We got the poor guy out of his yucky clothes, and cleaned him up. We put his soiled pants and t-shirt in the Nifty Thrifty bag and tied them shut. I was so tempted to drop them in the garbage, but I knew they were his most favorite camoflauge  pants…so I didn’t, just hoping that maybe Daddy will rinse them out.

Then I headed to the 17th Street Bargain Store, praying for some pants. Bingo- a pair of wind pants that will work. I realized that I’m out of cash, so I counted out quarters to pay for them and ran to the van with my bounty. We got him clothed and headed back to the dentist.

Buddy said, “Thanks Mom, I feel better now.”

“You’re welcome sweetie.” I responded thinking to myself, “I’m glad somebody does!”

We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to our massive home renovation. After 8 years and countless hours, we are actually planning the finishing touches.

Which lead us to spend an afternoon at several home improvement stores.

Since we live so far from anything, we don’t just “run” to the local Lowe’s to pick up what we need. We usually wait until we have a lengthy list before we drive the 2 hours.

It requires a great deal of thought and planning. It also means added stress.

We had quite a list as we pulled into Menard’s. The list was so big that I needed a clipboard to keep it all straight. (Which must have made me look official since I was mistaken for a store employee! Me? An expert about paints?! Now that’s funny!)

We started out strong with a game plan, but that was quickly tossed aside as we struggled in the lighting section, unable to find the first things on the list.

The afternoon deteriorated from there.

I almost hyper-ventilated in the paint aisle trying to figure out basement floor sealer and what to use on the stairs. Enamel or latex? Semi-gloss or satin? Silicone additive? Arghh!!!!

I almost cried at the dismal collection of vanities to purchase for the bathroom. Cheap particle board junk with hefty price tags.

My husband bravely set out to conquer the plumbing section to find the last few pipes and valves and whatchamacallits to finish up hooking everything up. He came out an hour later with his eyes glazed over.

Then there was the caulking. Fifty different color choices. Ten different kinds: windows, doors, sinks, and more. Who knew you had to caulk so many different things! Help!

We move on to Home Depot.

More dismal vanities. Longer and higher rows of plumbing gadgets. The caulking choices stretch to the ceiling. We look in vain for a salesperson to ask.

Frustration is mounting. Exhaustion sets in.

Then, finally, we scored two lights for the bathroom! Three hours into this adventure, I thankfully cross the first item of our massive list.

On to Wal-Mart where we pick up speed and quickly find everything on the list and mark them off with big bold marks.

Encouraged by our success we head back to Menard’s determined to overcome.

It was then that the miracle occurred.

Sales people actually found us.

They helped us.

They answered questions.

They were even friendly.

In a blaze of glory we finished the most important things on the list, deciding the rest could just wait.

After a mad dash through the store to find a bag of Sun Chips to munch on the way home, we headed for the car, exhausted but triumphant.

We had conquered.

This morning as I whipped up some apple, pear, banana fruit smoothies for my children and watched them guzzle them down, I got to thinking.

Now I realize that thinking that early in the morning can often be dangerous, as my brain is not fully activated yet. But my idea seemed like such a good one- are you ready? I could hide other fruits and vegetables in their smoothies!

It was brilliant!

Just think about the vegetables that could be blended right in!  Even my pickiest eater wouldn’t be able to pick them back out again!

Think about the nutrients my kids would unknowingly consume! Frozen peas, carrots, green beans, celery… no, wait…those are too normal. What about broccoli or kohlrabi or Brussels sprouts?  I know- tomatoes!

Some mothers seem to get away with it on a regular basis.

My sister-in-law Julie cooks up a vegetable medley that she hides in almost everything. Her meatballs are so packed with vitamins they should have a warning label. “Beware: These meatballs are extremely healthy and will make you as strong as Popeye.”

My friend Cinnamon concocts a smoothie for her children that includes spinach! Yes, spinach. And they drink it?! As if any of my kids would voluntarily drink something green.

Ahh yes- that brings us to the heart of the matter. When tricking kids into eating something healthy it must be well-hidden.

How could I possibly disguise the color and smell of say, spinach. It tends to be quite green no matter what you do with it.

Believe me I know. My Mom was always trying to hide things from us. Didn’t always work though. Her most famous cooking story remains “The Legend of the Green Fish Loaf.”

She had discovered a recipe for a fish loaf using canned salmon and spinach. She decided that she would just throw the spinach in the blender with the other ingredients and hide it. We would never know it was there!

She learned that spinach cannot be disguised. It turned the entire salmon loaf green.

We rushed to the table in anticipation of supper and there IT sat.  All green and bubbly with cheese on top. I wish we would have taken pictures of our faces as we sat around the table looking at IT.

IT went over like the proverbial lead balloon. Poor Mom has never been able to forget it. (Being the good children that we are, we keep reminding her.)

No, I realize now that such thinking is quite dangerous. There is an art to subterfuge as a mother, and I definitely have a lot to learn about it!

Hey, I still have a kid who can pick out ground up onions in a meatball.  Maybe I should send him to Aunt Julie’s for awhile….